The Fast Lane of Power and Wealth
Tup—
He tipped the Heavenly Demon Elixir into his mouth.
Then folded into the lotus position.
Gulp—
The supreme elixir melted away like snow, and a surge of miraculous energy poured down on him like an avalanche.
"Ugh—!"
Yu Jaewoo nearly blacked out on the spot.
Insane. It feels like an ocean is flooding into my dantian.
Beads of sweat broke out across Yu Jaewoo's forehead.
My dantian and meridians are boiling.
He closed his eyes and focused everything on energy circulation.
The vast breathing of heaven and earth filled his senses. His reversed-heaven qi raged through the Eight Trigrams, and a mysterious power coursed through his entire body as if it were a universe unto itself.
And that universe was boundless. Left alone, he would have lost his way and wandered forever—but the Heavenly Demon stood behind him.
"Focus!"
Vuuuuum—!
Yu Jaewoo exerted a level of concentration he had never known in his life. Inside the illusion that time itself was slowing, he surrendered himself entirely to the circulation of qi.
The sensation of every single cell awakening anew!
Here, in the World of Dream Souls, dreams became reality—and his body became a universe. Just as a larva sheds its cocoon to become a butterfly, he too was casting off his limits and being reborn.
Suuuuh—
Whoooo—
With every breath, the circulation of qi ran through the twelve meridians of the human body, elevating its very foundation. Not only the twelve meridians flowing through his limbs, but the Conception and Governing vessels that pierced the body's core also turned without a single obstruction.
Reversed-heaven energy pierced through his entire body. Essence, qi, and spirit fused into one—he had achieved the Harmonized Trunion of Three.
"You're nowhere near done! Do not let your focus waver!"
Yu Jaewoo followed the Heavenly Demon's guidance without question. Liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys—the qi of Heaven, Earth, and Demon filled each of the five organs in turn.
"Do not slacken! Stray even a hair, and you'll be swallowed by qi deviation! Concentrate. Command it!"
Yu Jaewoo summoned superhuman focus. This was something he could only do because he trusted the Heavenly Demon—and the Heavenly Demon trusted him.
Faaaaaah—!
Yu Jaewoo's body lifted into the air, and five shimmering rings floated above his head.
The Five Qi Ascending the Origin.
And then—
Crack-crack— crack-crack—
"Gaaaahk!"
Scorching steam erupted from Yu Jaewoo's body.
Every bone in my body is moving on its own!
Muscles and tendons contracted and relaxed in violent waves. Muscle tore, then regenerated. Every pore in his skin flung itself open, expelling foul impurities. An unbearable stench rolled off him in clouds.
But then—
The violet flames kindled by the Heavenly Demon Art.
FWOARARAR—
The fire burned every impurity away. His skin peeled off, and new skin regenerated beneath it.
The five rings hovering above Yu Jaewoo's head were drawn down and absorbed into his body.
Faaaaaah—
Brilliant five-colored light rippled from his form as he descended slowly from midair, still seated in lotus.
Yu Jaewoo opened his eyes slowly.
In them, mystic radiance and demonic energy coexisted side by side.
The Heavenly Demon wiped the sweat from his brow and chuckled.
"Kukuk. Even I have never seen such achievement in so short a span."
Yu Jaewoo's skeletal frame had transformed. His jet-black hair seemed to gleam with inner light. He had grown past 180 centimeters. The elasticity of his muscles rivaled the divine beasts of myth, and his skin was as supple as an infant's.
Yu Jaewoo spoke.
"It's wondrous."
At this moment, Yu Jaewoo was unmistakably a different man entirely—a master who had achieved both the Harmonized Trunion and the Five Qi Ascension. Within his dantian, ferocious demonic energy that seemed to have crawled up from hell coexisted with auspicious mystic light that seemed to have descended from the heavens. He had truly become one who harbored the Demon yet touched the sky.
"Thank you, truly, Master."
The Heavenly Demon waved his hand as dismissively as ever.
"From this moment, we run until you reach the Great Completion of the Demon-Slaying Heaven Art. Are you ready?"
"I'm sorry—right now? What about climbing the Tower—"
"You whelp."
"Aack! Yes, Master! Right away, of course!"
Yu Jaewoo plunged back into training with the Heavenly Demon. It would not take long. He was an otherworldly man reborn through fire and bone—and the master of this world within the dream.
After the environmental settings upgrade, the World of Dream Souls was endlessly changeable.
One day he honed his sword on a training platform at a mountain's peak; another day he practiced lightfoot movement across a field beside an emerald lake; yet another day he sparred in a volcanic zone where geothermal heat bubbled and hissed.
His opponents varied too—wooden training automatons, stone golems, even monsters shaped like the beasts said to emerge from the Tower.
Watching his opponents change daily, Yu Jaewoo couldn't help but wonder.
Just where are my master's limits?
He knew the Pipe of Dreams made it possible. Still—to conjure creations this varied and vivid?
Master, honestly. You pretended not to care, but I guess you really liked the gift.
Of course, that was exactly what made training so enjoyable.
Mountain peaks thrust skyward like needles, and a dueling arena of polished green stone appeared upon one of them.
Scritch-scritch— scritch-scritch—
Ten wooden automatons rose from the arena floor. Like living men, they drew wooden swords—and those blades of mere wood gleamed sharper than any forged weapon.
Huuuung—
Yu Jaewoo condensed the Heavenly Demon Art into a Formless Sword and threw himself into fierce combat with the automatons.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
An automaton's blade grazed past his hair; his sword split the automaton's neck.
Shff—
Cut down one, and the others swarmed in without pause. But Yu Jaewoo handled them with practiced ease. Sometimes he drove them back like a crashing wave; sometimes he became a vicious storm and split them in twain. The sword-light he and the automatons wove flashed across the field like fireworks on a summer night.
"Demon-Slaying Heaven Art: Heaven-Earth Annihilation Wheel."
Yu Jaewoo drew his sword to his waist, gathering the immense power of the Heavenly Demon Art at its tip and setting it spinning. An ocean of energy traced infinite revolutions, forming a wheel of annihilation fit to erase heaven and earth.
SSSEEEEAAAH—!
Yu Jaewoo fired the blade.
The annihilation wheel flew out with his sword.
KWAAAAAAH—
The remaining automatons raised a wall of swords like a rampart of lightning—but it meant nothing.
JEEEOOONG—!
The sword wall broke. The automatons behind it broke too. No—broke wasn't the right word. The annihilation wheel erased everything along its line without leaving a single trace. The arena it passed over crumbled to powder, and the wheel, flying on into the distance, erased an entire mountain peak as well.
A distant roar of thunder rolled across the horizon.
KWAAAHAAANG—!
And then a fierce wind swept through.
The Heavenly Demon's voice came from behind him.
"You have achieved the Great Completion."
Two weeks after his rebirth through fire and bone, Yu Jaewoo had mastered the Great Completion of the Demon-Slaying Heaven Art.
"Thank you, Master. Though I still have a long way to go before I compare to you."
And it was true. The Demon-Slaying Heaven Art was merely one of the many arts the Heavenly Demon had mastered. Worse, the Heavenly Demon had spent Yu Jaewoo's absence devoting himself wholeheartedly to his own training. Who could possibly stand against him now?
"Go on, then. I have matters of the martial path to ponder myself."
"Yes, Master!"
Delighted that he could finally climb the Tower again, Yu Jaewoo slipped out of the World of Dream Souls. Even after he left, the manor and its pavilions kept their forms, holding steady in the void.
The Heavenly Demon strolled through the grounds and gazed up at the sky. A brilliant moon had risen without him noticing.
"Not bad. It has been a fine time."
Back in his studio apartment, I opened my closet.
What my hands found, as expected:
A gray hoodie. Gray sweatpants.
I'd been eating and sleeping in the World of Dream Souls for so long I hadn't noticed, but my clothes were absolutely ratty.
"I've got money now. Time to buy some real clothes."
I threw something on and headed out. I was craving riverside ramen at the Han River, after all.
I kicked off with lightfoot movement.
Whoosh—
Seconds later, I arrived at the Han River. Bought a cup ramen, filled it, set it boiling.
Bubble— bubble—
Once the noodles were cooked to perfect chewiness, I found a bench with a decent view of the river.
Sluuurp—
Ramen. Ahhh—THIS is the stuff.
The noodles were a work of art.
I pulled out my phone and opened YouTube.
Everyone was talking about the legendary Awakener. Don't you people have anything better to do? Don't worry—I was planning to climb today anyway.
I opened KakaoTalk.
"Hm. Guess I should go see the old faces."
Just then, two men in suits sat down on a bench nearby. The energy radiating off them was anything but ordinary—they were awakeners. The pair glanced at me, then switched to Chinese.
"Should we get rid of that guy?"
"No need. No aura at all—must be a civilian."
They seemed to think I couldn't understand them just because they were speaking Chinese... I'm certified Level 6 on the HSK, thanks.
Tsk tsk. You picked the wrong bench, boys.
And also—
Why the hell are you scheming at the Han River, of all places?
"Sir Chilmyo, we're pressuring the Korean axe faction, but the Korean Awakener Association appears to be controlling all information, making progress difficult."
"No need to guess—that Cho Sanghyuk bastard must have pulled some trick. But whatever it takes, we must pin down the target's location before Lady Jeokmyo arrives."
Jeokmyo, huh.
I'd heard that name before. China's vicious syndicate of villain awakeners—the Twelve Earthly Branches. The Red Rabbit, one of its executives. So this Chilmyo character must be Jeokmyo's underling rabbit?
He even looks like a rabbit.
I pricked up my ears and listened in. Not that they gave me a second thought—having reached the realm of Reflected Light Return, I read as nothing more than an ordinary civilian.
Chilmyo and his lackey discussed their business in the open without a hint of shame. Drugs, customs, the Korean government, the United States, how even the Chinese government had started watching them lately—honestly, the kind of talk that made you wonder if they were safe discussing it anywhere.
These idiots would get themselves arrested just standing still.
"Pass this to the axe faction. No matter what happens, the information on that Awakener must be found."
"Yes, sir. They'll do anything to get on our good side anyway. Don't worry."
"Good. See it done quickly."
"Loyalty!"
Loyalty, my ass.
I shook my head. And then walked right up to them.
"Ni hao."
"..."
The expressions on Chilmyo and his man twisted viciously. Chilmyo's hand shot toward me in an instant—but sadly for him, mine was faster.
KRAK—
I seized his wrist and snapped it, then in the same breath pressed the numbing acupoints of both men, sealing their bodies with paralysis.
"UGH—!"
They spoke as though they couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Impossible."
"There's a martial-master class like this in Korea?"
SLAP—!
I backhanded Chilmyo across the face.
SLAP—!
Then swung and caught the other one too.
"Im-possible? You little shits. Where do you think you are, crawling in here uninvited, huh? Jeokmyo sent you?"
"This insolent dog dares speak her name—"
SLAP—!
"Cut the crap. You two can babble all you want, but the moment I talk, it's a problem? Pathetic."
I cast the Soul-Seizing Art over both of them.
"Ni hao."
Vuuuung—!
From above and below, front and back, left and right—my voice would be coming at them from every direction.
"Kuhk! Stop—!"
"UAAAAAH!"
Ni hao. Ni hao. Ni hao. Ni hao. Ni hao—
"Who sent you looking for this Awakener?"
At my question, Chilmyo answered with a dazed expression.
"We are searching for the Awakener who achieved the legendary-tier feat."
"Who sent you?"
"My lord Jeokmyo did send us, but in truth, the entire Twelve Earthly Branches are interested in this matter."
"Ha—have you people lost your minds entirely?"
Looked like I'd need to deal with them properly at some point.
"Is this Jeokmyo coming to Korea?"
"She is scheduled to arrive in two days."
"From now on, you're my undercover agents. Forget you ever met me. And when you meet Jeokmyo, tell her the legendary Awakener will be waiting at the Han River."
"Yes. Understood."
"Then get lost. I'm not done with my ramen."
Chilmyo and his lackey rose with vacant stares and shuffled away like puppets on strings.
Clack-clack— clack-clack—
Tsk tsk. THOSE are supposed to be underlings?
I finished off my riverside ramen, bought a can of beer, and walked along the riverside path.
Click— gulp— gulp—
"Ahh—! Now THAT's good."
I pulled out my phone and checked my balance.
💰 Account Balance
₩35,988,500
"Feels good every time I see it."
I was already more than strong enough. All that was left was climbing the Tower a bit—
And then I'd be rich!
"So THIS is the fast lane of wealth, huh?"
Laughter spilled out of me before I could stop it.
"PUHAHAHAHA!"
I immediately opened a shopping app—one that mostly dealt in luxury goods.
"Let's see here—"
A wallet for Dad. A handbag for Mom.